The Bosnian capital has a new shopping centre, the “Sarajevo City Center”. It is the fourth within a radius of a kilometre, in a country where the population is increasingly poor. But the city loves its malls
Turning an area of Belgrade into a Dubai of the Balkans. The Serbian government project for the right bank of the Sava, issued during the election campaign, appears unsustainable to critics
Thirty years ago, from February 8th to 19th, the fourteenth edition of the Olympic Winter Games was held in Sarajevo. A few years after the Olympic facilities, a symbol of common history and life, were targeted by the bombings
The renovation of the centre of Belgrade will involve moving the statue of Dimitrije Tucović, Serbian anti-war activist who died in 1914 and has recently disappeared from the public debate
The outermost island in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago, Unije has always given its inhabitants precious, but limited, resources. Today the island, off the beaten track of mass tourism, is trying to preserve its centuries old delicate balance
After a recent wave of incidents, Serbian authorities have promised draconian measures against hooligans, but seem unable to effectively tackle the problem
On November 9th, twenty years ago, the artillery of the Bosnian Croat army destroyed the Mostar Bridge, a treasure of Ottoman architecture and one of the symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina. People reacted on instinct to the news
The glorious Yugoslav railway system is just a pale memory. Today travel by train in Serbia is uncomfortable, and even risky. Modernization, however, might be on the track
A promenade in Baku's museal system starts at the Haydar Aliyev Center and continues through concrete and futuristic designs. Building the new, however, does not imply maintaining the old
In Belgrade the second edition of the queer studies course just ended. It discussed unconventional perspectives, marginal identities, and emancipatory practices. Osservatorio met with philosopher and activist Dušan Maljkovic, coordinator of the course
Wrestling could be banned from the 2020 Olympic Games program. The entire family of the Balkan, Caucasian, and Central Asian states has teamed up against the decision
In 1970, students Cvjetko and Pavle leave Belgrade to hitchhike their way to the Isle of Wight. An unexpected encounter is awaiting them in France. Back when the word Yugoslavia still opened the doors to Europe
Funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, three students from the United States and Gibraltar are researching and recording traditional music in the South Caucasus to make it available online
Trabzon is a millennial hub of trade and passage. Within its maze of streets stands the church of Aghia Sophia, whose fate is currently at stake as that of its more famous namesake in Istanbul
An extraordinary discovery by two physicists from Belgrade sweeps the world. The Serbian scientific community, though, is in trouble because of mismanagement and lacking of funds. An analysis
Throughout the twentieth century, Sarajevo has been both a symbol of political violence and a model of peaceful coexistence. The years in which the city fell under the control of the Ustasha are crucial to understand its contradictions. A book by Emily Greble
The prestigious Venetian theatre has begun working with Emir Kusturica on the production of a theatrical version of Ivo Andrić's novel The Bridge on the Drina. The project is strongly contested by the associations of the victims in Višegrad, where the opera is due to go on stage June 28 2014
In the region of Leskovac, in Southern Serbia, growing peppers is an art refined over the centuries. The “ajvar” is a fragrant pepper paste that comes with soft cheeses and pork meat. Our report
The appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet on the new Euro banknotes has been welcomed as a sign of trust of the European economic system in the Balkan Countries. It is Cyrillic, however, that underpins three ticklish controversies, in Serbia and Croatia
It is open clash between the Croatian Catholic Church and the center-left government. The disputed issue is sex education in schools, recently introduced in the broader context of civic education and health
In October 2012, the European Commission gave green light to Macedonia for the fourth time in a row to start the EU accession negotiations, still blocked by a Greek veto. But what is the real state of democracy in the country? Our correspondent takes us on a personal reflection on indicators rarely taken into account
What principles should underpin Serbia's educational system from now to 2020? The answer lies in the Strategy for the Development of Education, recently adopted by the government. The document, however, does not appeal to many intellectuals denouncing it subjects education to nationalism and the market economy
She's not a hermit, though in other times she could have been. Her job is not in keeping with the times: she repairs the clocks in the Ottoman palaces. Şule Gürbüz is the only woman in the world to be an expert in mechanical clocks and author of two collections of stories which are small jewels of contemporary Turkish literature: Zamanin Farkinda (Aware of time, 2011) and Coskuyla Olmek (Die enthusiastically, 2012)
A few months ago, Belgrade introduced the BusPlus system, which was supposed to revolutionize the city's public transport. But technological innovations have only masked the inefficiency and poor state of public transport. And violence against those who do not pay the ticket is increasing
The long story of Azerbaijani cinema, from a documentary on oil gushes filmed in 1898 to Soviet-time musicals, and its bleak situation today. The government tries to help the local industry by banning foreign TV series and shows on local TVs, but hope comes from young directors
